In recent years, researchers and environmental engineering experts at Utah State University (USU) have looked closely at the level of pollutants carried by stormwater and how simple changes in stormwater management in cities and towns across Utah could help alleviate the problem. USU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering researchers are wrapping up a long-term […]

In mid-May the University of Connecticut announced an expansion to its free rain-garden smartphone application. It is now a multistate application, available for both iOS and Android devices, that contains information on plants, sizing, and soils for 13 states. Originally developed for Connecticut with funding from Connecticut Sea Grant, the rain-garden mobile application helps users […]

In early May, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released its 2014 Annual Report for the NYC Green Infrastructure Program. In 2014, DEP met or exceeded the expected green infrastructure performance rates for the three neighborhood demonstration areas, committed $36 million for green infrastructure construction as part of the city’s Community Parks Initiative, […]

Soil media can reverse the toxic effects of urban runoff that otherwise quickly kills young coho salmon and their insect prey, according to new research by Washington State University, NOAA Fisheries, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Polluted stormwater has been identified as a risk factor for many threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead […]

On Nov. 20, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) named Stanley’s True Value Hardware its first Stormwater Pioneer. Third generation small business owners Mark and Joe Jaconski were recognized as role models for business owners and private developers who want to reduce stormwater runoff from their properties. The stormwater design team, Ruggiero Plante Land Design, was […]

On Oct. 27, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) unveiled the first of 10 core green infrastructure projects to reduce combined sewer overflows to Lake Erie. The bioretention project displayed in October involved the transformation of three neglected lots in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. The bioretention facilities are expected to retain more than 757,000 […]

Bioretention is one of the most popular green infrastructure practices in many areas throughout the U.S. That is evident in the Chesapeake Stormwater Network’s recently released survey of stormwater management practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, where bioretention was the most implemented practice over the last year. In fact, bioretention was implemented almost twice as […]

Australia is a country of droughts and flooding, and new initiatives are helping the country tackle both problems. In Melbourne, local government schools and homeowners recently achieved the region’s goal of building 10,000 rain gardens. The Melbourne Water 10,000 Raingarden Program, started in 2008, focused on the Port Phillip and Westernport regions. Local councils started […]

StormwaterPA and GreenTreks Network recently released a new video, Rain Gardens: Saving Streams One Yard at a Time. The video is set in Ambler, Pa., which is immediately upstream from Philadelphia and in the Wisshickon watershed. During the next several years, the Ambler Environmental Advisory Council is encouraging homeowners to plant 100 rain gardens. The […]

On Feb. 26, the water minister of the Australian state of Victoria announced a pilot project in Mount Evelyn. The goal of the project is to mitigate water quality problems in Little Stringybark Creek caused primarily by runoff from increasing urban development. Local community, educational researchers, and Melbourne Water have been promoting rainwater tanks and […]